Windows * “Live Tiles”

The best way to explain "Live Tiles" would be to compare it to a "Widget" on your smartphone. You know, how the icon updates itself depending on the app itself. For instance, your email app may show a number or part of the email you just received, or Facebooks Widget may show status updates of your friends.

Live Tiles "live" on the new Metro start menu, they do not show on the Desktop (which by the way is a "Live Tile" in itself on the Start menu. There are about 10 default Tiles that show up after installing Windows 8, like email, calendar, people (your ,contact list), among others.

There is also a "Windows Store" much like the Apple Store or Googles "Play" store with apps specifically designed for Windows 8 desktops, along with apps for the Windows phone. The Windows Store works in much the same way as the other two mentioned, there are categories, free and paid apps, reviews by other users. There are some very interesting apps like one for the Chef at home, it displays a different recipe on the Tile each day, a simple click on the Tile opens up to the recipe and ingredients. Anther thing you will notice about Tiles is that there is no "X" in the corner to close the app. To close the app its as simple as dragging it down with either your finger (if you have a touchscreen) or by "grabbing" it with a your mouse and dragging it down (similar to dragging and dropping), you can also switch between the Start Screen and the Desktop with a single button, the Windows Key on your keyboard does this.

There are many short-cut keys available also. We will talk about that in another blog. For now, I’m very happy with Windows 8. To me it seems like a face-lift to Windows 7 and in my opinion a good one.

For system questions and concerns, contact the CCS Retail Systems Support Department at 800.672.4806 or email us